This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In recent years, flat panel televisions have become enormously popular in both the commercial and residential sectors. As the prices for plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panel displays have continued to fall, and the quality for the same devices have improved, more and more businesses and individuals have purchased such devices for both home and business entertainment purposes.
Although the introduction of flat panel televisions on a wide scale has presented new opportunities to both residential and commercial customers, it has also presented new challenges. In particular, flat panel televisions, while usually having significantly smaller depth or profile than conventional “tube” televisions, tend to be quite heavy. Particularly for flat panel televisions with large screens, this weight can become also prohibitively great. With such large weights involved, it is especially important that users can easily, safely, and securely mount devices. Furthermore, with such weights involved and the high cost of such devices, it is extremely important that the device be mounted correctly on the first attempt: if the device is not correctly mounted on the first try, there is a high risk of damaging the device and causing injury to those installing it.
In addition, with recent advances in media content and media delivery, more media components such as set top boxes, personal computer (PC)/receivers, and specialized speakers are utilized in conjunction with flat panel displays. Co-locating such media components with the flat panel display also aids in freeing up potentially valuable floor space, as well as makes operation of the various media components more convenient. Furthermore, the installation of the various media components is made more convenient as routing and connecting wires, for example, have less distance to travel between connected media components. However, co-locating these media components with conventional ceiling mounts is complicated and conventionally results in visually unappealing, cluttered configurations.
Yet another aspect of consideration to be taken into account with flat panel displays is viewing angle. Certain flat panel displays have stricter requirements regarding satisfactory angles from which the flat panel display can be viewed. Therefore, any mounting system, ceiling or otherwise, needs to be adjustable to allow for these optimum viewing angles.
Conventional mounting systems, and in particular, ceiling mounting systems, require a plethora of hardware for installation and attaching devices thereto and tend to have an industrial appearance. In addition, conventional mounting systems must generally be configured for specific devices and specific ceiling types, e.g., specific truss sizes, thereby lacking common hardware and convenient adaptability. Also, conventional ceiling mounting systems are generally more fragile in nature, as no mechanisms for dealing with impacts are utilized.